Rivet setting machine



Feb. 20, 1934. E, B STIMPSON 1,947,680

RIVET SETTING MACHINE' Filed July 10. 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 ummm ' l NNW.

Hilim Edv/n .Stz'mpRs0n AORNEYS Feb. 20, 1934. E, B sTlMPSQN 1,947,680

` RIVET SETTING MACHINE Filed July 10.1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 90 INVENTOR ATT RNEY5 Feb. 20, 1934. E. B sTlMPSQN 1,947,680

RIVET SETTlNG MACHINE Filed July 10, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR @wh/wf ATTO NEYJ Feb- 20, 1934- E. B. sTxMPsoN RIVET SETTING MACHINE Filed July 10, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 z 9 l, :E u 1 1 IIIL INVENTOR Edwin 5.5i

Arr RNEYS Feb 20, 1934 E. B. sTlMPsoN l 1,947,580

RIVET SETTING HACHINE Filed July 10, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR EcZwvz/Bi mizson BY (j u ATTO NEYS Feb- 20, 1934- E. B. sTlMPsoN RIVET SETTING' MACHINE Filed July 10, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTQR EJwULS/'zm n ws M A oRNEYs Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RIVET SETTING MACHINE Application July 10, 1931. Serial N0. 549,913

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to rivet setting machines and more especially to the type generally disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,651,976y patented December 6, 1927.

The present invention relates more especially to features of the machine which render it more positive in operation and more economical in manufacture, as well as to structural features which permit changes of the feed mechanism from one type or size rivet to another without substantial disassembly of the feed mechanism.

Other and further improvements in the mechanisms will be apparent to those skilled in the art, from the following description and illustrations, and will be specically designated in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that the disclosure herewith is illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the present invention but is not to be understood in the limiting sense.-

Throughout the several figuresof the drawings, like parts are designated by like characters Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of the operative head of the machine with the lower portion of the pedestal and operating levers being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1. l

Fig. 3 is also a front elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 2 and with the feed mechanism separated from the rivet setting portion of the device.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a part of the mechanism illustrating more especially the drive mechanism for the several parts.

Fig. 5 is an elevational sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 6, showing a cross-section through the feed hopper and feed wheel.

Fig. 6 is an elevational View on line 6--6 of Fig. 5 illustratingr the feed hopper and the movement of the rivets during the operation of the device.

Fig. 7 is a View of the rivet feed channel or chute showing the parts separated to more clearly illustrate the relation and construction of the parts.

Fig. 8 is a View of the rivet agitator and the driving link therefor.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the feed head for the rivet chute.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the feed head for the rivet chute and a cut-off slide which feeds rivets one at a time to the feed head.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional View on line 11--11 of Fig. 10. i

,15 so that this plunger cannot rotate.

(Cl. B18-2.1)

Fig. 12 is a slight modification of the feed hopper.

Fig. 13 is a view on line 13--13 of Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a top plan View of the plunger head of the main frame.

Referring to the drawings and more especially to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a main frame 1 is mounted upon a pedestal 2 which carries suitable pedal operated actuating mechanism common in the art, as for example, in my prior Patent No. g5 1,646,072, October 18, 1927. This operating mechanism comprises a link 4 and an operating arm 5. The operating arm 5 is secured to a shaft 6 by means of a lock stub bolt 7 in such manner that when the arm 5 oscillates, the shaft 6 70 rotates in bearings 8 and 9 on the upper part of the main frame 1. In normal position, the operating arm 5 rests on the adjustable stop 10, also carried by the main frame 1. The forward end of the operating arm 5 is connected (Figs. '(5 3 and 4) by links 11 with a plunger 12 which removably carries a rivet setting head 14. A rivet pocket plunger 15 is mounted adjacent the setting headplunger 12 and is normally raised upwardly by a contraction spring 16. This plunger 15 carries a pair of spring pressed pocket members 17 which have a central recess or rivet pocket normally in the path of the rivet setting head 14 and directly over the adjustable anvil 18 against which the rivets are adapted t0 be set by the rivet setting head 14. The downward movement of the pocket plunger 15 is limited by the hook shaped adjustable stop 19 which contacts with the fixed stop 20 located adjacent the plunger 15. This fixed stop 20 has a cylindrical head which fits a concave guideway 21 formed in the side of the pocket plunger This insures pocket members 17 will be in the correct position at all times over the anvil 18.

The shaft 6 on its inner end carries a bar 22 (Figs. 3 and 4) which extends across the end of the shaft 6. The upper end of the bar 22 carries a hook 24 which engages a ratchet wheel 25 on a shaft 26 that supports the feed Wheel 27. This feed wheel 27 is removably mounted on the shaft 26 by means of the thumb nut 28 which bears upon the spring spider 29 to force the hub (Fig. 5) 30 of the feed wheel 27 into intimate contact with the end of the bearing 31 for the shaft 26. The lower end of the bar 22 carries a link 32 which performs two functions, first, that of oscillating the lever 34 which is pivoted on the stud 35 and carries the leaf spring 36 which actuates the cut-off slide 37 that feeds the rivets one 110 by one to the pocket 17. This leaf spring 36 is quite loosely mounted on the lever 34 so that the arcuate oscillating movement of the lever 34 does not in any way tend to cause the cut-off slide to bind as will later be explained. The upper part of the link 32 comprises a rack 38 which permits the link 32 to perform its second function, namely, that of driving the rivet agitator 39. This agitator is screw threaded through the wall of the feed hopper.

In rivet setting machines, it is frequently desirable to make changes in the feed mechanism to t different types or lengths of rivets for different purposes. Heretofore, it has been necessary in making such changes to remove a large number of individual parts such as guideways, feed heads, feed wheels, etc. The operators of rivet setting machines are usually not skilled mechanics so that the changes frequently involved difficulties. In the present invention, the entire feed mechanism is arranged to be removed as a unit and to this end, the head of the main frame 1 is provided with a pair of relatively heavy studs 40 and 41. These studs accurately t openings 42 and 44 in the face of the feed frame 45. A single assembly bolt 46 extends through an opening 47 in the head of the main frame and into a screw threaded pocket 48 in the feed frame (see Fig. 3). The removel of the assembly bolt 46 permits the entire feed frame and feed mechanism to be withdrawn from the main frame as a unit (see Fig. 3) to be replaced by a similar feed frame carrying mechanism to accommodate a different type of rivet. lWhen the new feed frame is placed in position, the actuating parts are automatically correctly positioned so that the operator may immediately begin using the machine to set the new or different type of rivets.

The feed frame in the preferred form (Figs. 5 and 6) comprises a feed hopper 49 having an inclined iioor 50 which terminates in a downward chute 51 that delivers rivets into a compartment having a V-shaped bottom wall 52 that is inclined toward a feed opening 54 in the front wall. This feed opening 54 leads to the cup `part of the feed wheel 27. The agitator 39 is screw threaded in and-out opposite to the feed opening 54 each time the link 32 reciprocates when the machine is operated, and this to and fro motion of the end of the agitator 39 stirs up the mass of the rivets suiciently to prevent any clogging in the opening 54. The rim 55 of the feed wheel 27 is provided with radial slots 56 which are of a width slightly greater than the diameter of the stems of the rivets to be fed. The face 57 of the rim 55 is spaced from the face 58 of the feed frame a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the heads of the rivets to be fed. As the hook 24 operating on the ratchet wheel 25 turns the feed wheel 27 in the direction of the arrow A (Fig. 1), the rivets tumble around in the feed Wheel and some of the rivets fall into the slots 56 with the heads of the rivet in the space between the faces 57 and 58. A guide segment 59 is mounted upon spacing washers 60 to provide a space 61 between the guide segment and the face 58 of the feed frame for heads of rivets. This guide segment is set away from the periphery of the feed Wheel 27 to provide a curved space 62 slightly greater than the diameter of the rivets so that rivets which drop in the proper manner into the radial slots 56 will be fed into the curved space 62. A cover segment 64 is set wardly (Figs. 2 and 3) in such manner as to forma clearance cam 65 which sweeps the slots 56 clear of any protruding rivets, which may be carried upwardly by the wheel 27 in its rotation.

One of the difficulties in feeding rivets from a hopper into a feed wheel is to insure that the feed wheel will at all times receive an adequate supply of rivets from the hopper and at the same time shall not be over fed. Where the rivet feed conduits to the feed wheel tend to choke and therefore do not feed an adequate supply, the feed wheel will often run empty and rivets will not properly be fed to the rivet setting mechanism. Where an over supply of rivets are fed to the feed wheel, the mass due to the over supply, crowds the rivets in such manner as to prevent individual rivets from entering the feed slots as is desired. It is one of the problems of this art to feed exactly the right amount of rivets at all times to the feed wheel. The present invention solves that problem by providing a feed hopper which feeds rivets through a conduit into the cup of the feed wheel, and wherein a return conduit is provided to permit any excess supply of rivets being sent back into the feed conduit so that a substantially predetermined supply onlyis retained in the feed cup of the feed wheel. This may be accomplished as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 by providing an opening 66 in the face 58 of the feed frame so that as the feed wheel rotates, the excess of rivets in the feed wheel will spill through the opening 66 back into the supply conduit where the rivets will be returned through the feed opening 54 to the feed wheel as the supply in the feed wheel diminishes due to rivets leaving the feed wheel through the slots 56 and the curved space 62. The path of the rivets being fed from the hopper 49 to the feed opening 54 Vis indicated by the arrows B in Fig. 6. The path of the excess amount of rivets is illustrated by the arrows C, Fig. 6. Actual use of the device demonstrates the eiliciency and successful operation of this feeding construction in that the feed Wheel is always amply supplied without being over supplied so long as there are rivets being fed downward from the feed hopper.

A modification of the feed hopper construction is illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 in which the hopper 49 is not provided with a bottom wall but rivets feed directly from the hopper to the V-shaped bottom wall 52. The hopper is provided, however, With a front wall 67 which is set back to provide a recess 68 (Fig. 13) adjacent the upper portion of the feed wheel 27. The top of the face 58 of the front wall of the feed frame is cut away adjacent the recess 68 in such manner as to provide a side wall over which excess rivets may drop into the bottom of the hopper feed to be returned to the feed wheel through the opening 54.

Another feature of novelty in the present device is the chute or feed track for the rivets after the rivets leave the feed wheel 27. This chute comprises a trackway formed of a bent metal bar 69 which carries a pair of members 70 and 71 preferably of thin spring steel. These lli? guide members are mounted upon spacing washers 72 and are riveted .by solid rivets 74 to the metal bar 69. The end pairs of rivets 75 and 76 are hollow to permit the passage of machine screws 77 and 78 which screw thread into the feed frame 45. 'I'he guide members 70 and 71 are spaced apart to comprise a rivet guideway 79 in which the rivets. slide by gravity with the heads of the rivets against the bent bar 69 and beneath the guide members 70 and 71. l The lower end of the guide member 70 is provided with a cutaway track 80 while the guide member 72 is provided with a stop 81.

'I'he feed frame 45 has a slideway 82 in which the cut-off slide 37 reciprocates. This cut-off slide comprises a metal stamping 84 to which is riveted a cut-off bar 85. The metal bar 69 and guide members 70 and 71 are adapted to thread through the cut-off 37, and to hold this cut-off bar in place when the chute is assembled on the feed frame, as indicated in Fig. 10. Normally, the cut-off 37 is held in position to the right as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 10. As the machine is operated, the cut-off bar is moved to the left by the action of the leaf spring 36. The end 86 of the cut-off bar 85 has a width substantially equal to the diameter of the stem of the rivets being fed. As the cut-off slides to the left, the rivet which is resting against the stop 81 is carried over into the cut-away track 80 and feeds down the end of the chute while the end 86 supports the next rivet in the chute from moving down until the slide returns to normal position.

The head 87 of the chute comprises a continuation of the metal bar 69, and is provided with upturned lips 88 and 89 through which is a passageway 90 for the rivet released by the cut-off 37 as it is moved to the left. These lips 88 and 89 are held in engagement with a shoulder 91 on the pocket 17 by the spring 16, so that as the machine starts to operate, a

single rivet is delivered from the chute into the pocket in the member 17. If the machine is rapidly operated and a rivet catches in the passageway 90, the lips 88 and 89 are liable to be injured. As this may sometimes happen, it is desirable to provide for quick repairs of this part. This is accomplished by making the head 87 a separate piece which is provided with a tongue 92 that ts in a recess in the lower end of the bar 69. The lower ends of the guides 76 and 71 carry spacing washers 95 and 96 which are riveted to the guide so that when the head 87 is removed, the spacing washers are retained by the guides and it is merely necessary to apply or remove machine screws 97 to effect the removal or replacement of the head 87. From the foregoing, it will appear that the guide chute is a very compact, stable construction which at the same time is simple to manufacture. Heretofore, this chute structure has been made by expensive milling operations and the result has not been as satisfactory as the present built-up guideway made from the bent bar and strips of spring steel. Also, heretofore, it has been customary to make an elaborate machined piece for a cut-off slide and the present metal stamping is not only economical but is more satisfactory and accurate in operation than the expensive machined piece heretofore provided for this function.

In the operation of the device, the hopper 49 is lfilled with rivets. These rivets feed down to the space opposite the agitator 39 and then through the opening 54 intothe feed wheel 37. When the machine is operated, the operating arm 5 swings counter-clockwise (Fig. 1) thereby causing the rack 38 on the link 32 to rotate the agitator 39 and at the same time this link swings the lever 34 to cause the leaf' spring 36 to move the cut-off slide to the left (Fig. 1) to drop one rivet down the rivet guide head into the recess in the pocket members 17. As the operating arm 5 continues its movement after the rivet has dropped, the forward end of the operating arm 5 through the links 1l has depressed the plunger 12, thereby causing the rivet setting head 14 to descend into the pocket 17 and upon striking the rivet therein, the continued movement of the setter 14, carries the pocket plunger 15 downwardly against the pull of the spring 16 until the adjustable stop 19 strikes the i'lxed stop 20. Preferably, this adjustment and also the adjustment of the anvil 18 is such that the lower end of the pocket member17 has now contacted with the goods to be riveted. The further operation of the devices causes the rivet setting head 14 to drive the rivet through the pocket member 17 which 100 opens up to permit the passage of the rivet and forces the rivet through the goods (not shown) and spreads the rivet against the anvil face of the anvil 18. One half the cycle of operation noW being completed, the operating arm 5 is permitted to oscillate in a clockwise direction, thereby returning the cut-off slide 37 to normal position and permit another rivet to drop against the xed stop 81 on the guide member 70. As the arm 5 continues its movement in a clockwise direction, the ratchet hook 24 engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel 25 turns the feed wheel 27 in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. This tumbles the rivets about inside the feed Wheel and permits the rivets to drop through the slots 56 in the feed wheel rim 55 and from the slots 56, the rivets fall out into the curved space 62 which connects with the guideway 79 and into which rivets reaching the space 62 automatically fall by gravity with the heads of the rivets being guided beneath the guide members 70 and 71 and the stems of the rivets extending outwardly. If any rivets are caught in the radial slots of the feed wheel 27, they are eventually carried up until they contact with the clearance cam 65 which pulls these rivets from the face of the feed wheel and permits them to drop back into the mass of rivets. If the feed wheel has become over filled with rivets, the rotative movement of the feed wheel 130 in the direction of the arrow A carries these rivets upwardly so that they spill through the opening 66 in Figs. 5 and 6 or through the recess 68 in Fig. 13. This excess of rivets in the feed wheel 27 thus goes back to the main supply, thereby maintaining only a maximum predetermined amount of rivets in the feed wheel so that the rivets in the wheel have ample opportunity of working out in the proper way through the slots 56 in the rim 55 o f the feed Wheel 27 into the feed chute. The continued movement of the arm 5 in a clockwise direction'restores the plungers 12 and 15 and connected parts to initial position. The device is then ready for a second operation. 145

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the present invention comprises a strong, compact, rivet setting device adapted to have substantial certainty of operation and of such construction .as to be simple to manufacture.

ing through which an excess of rivets fed to said feed wheel through said lower opening may return to said conduit when said feed wheel is rotated.

2. In a riveting machine, rivet feed--mech anism comprising a feed hopper, a conduit leading from the lower portion of said feed hopper, a cupped feed wheel, means to rotate said feed wheel, a wall adjacent which said feed Wheel rotates, said wall being provided with a lower opening and an upper opening, said lower opening being adapted to feed rivets from said conduit into said cupped wheel and said upper opening being adapted to comprise a passageway for return of excess rivets from said cupped wheel to the feed passageway. 1

3. In a riveting machine, rivet feeding devices comprising a feed frame provided with a rivet hopper, a cupped feed wheel having` a slotted rim, a shaft extending through said feed frame and being adapted to carry said wheel, a side wall adjacent said feed'wheel, a conduit leading from said hopper to an opening in the lower part of said side wall, arivet agitator, means to intermittently rotate the shaft carrying the cupped feed wheel, and means to actuate said agitator when said wleel is rotated,l whereby said agitator facilitates the movement of rivets through said conduit and into said cupped wheel.

e. In a riveting machine, rivet feeding means comprising a rivet feeding chute having a curved base bar, a pair of strips spaced apart to comprise a guidewaj7 for a stem of a rivet, hollow washers spacing said strips from said bar, rivets extending through said washers to anchor said strips to said bar, certain of said rivets being hollow to permit anchoring screws for said chute to pass through said hollow rivets.

5. A riveting device comprising feeding devices including a chute comprising a base bar and a pair of metal strips spaced from said base bar to comprise a rivet guide, a removable head adjacent the lower end of said base bar and comprising a continuation of the base bar, and anchoring means extending through the lower endsof said metal strips to anchor said removable head in position relatively to said base bar.

6. In a riveter, a rivet setting mechanism comprising a main frame, a setting head plunger mounted to reciprocate in said main frame, a rivet pocket, a cylindrical plunger carrying said i rivet pocket and being mounted to reciprocate in saidmain frame, said cylindrical plunger having one side cut away to form an arc shaped groove, a cylindrical head guide member mounted on the main frame adjacent said pocket plunger with the head of said member being in engagement with the bottom of said groove to prevent the rotation of said plunger during reciprocation thereof.

7. In a rlveter, rivet feeding mechanism comprising a cupped feed wheel having a slotted rim, a cover segment comprising a curved bar set adjacent the major portion of the periphery of said wheel to prevent rivets from being discharged from that portion of said periphery, the upper part of said cover segment bar being curved outwardly to comprise a clearance lcam for removing -rivets which are not properly` cleared from said slots,`and means to intermittently rotate said cupped wheel.

8. Rivet feeding mechanism comprising a rivet chute formed of a base bar comprising a continuous unbrokentrack for the heads of rivets and continuous guiding plates carried by said base bar to guide the stems of the rivets, a cross feed comprising a member'having a portion extending beneath said base bar and an inturned end extending above said. guiding plates with av cut-off bar opposing said inturned end and also above said guiding plate, and means to operate said cross feed to feed rivets one at a time through a portion of the rivet chute.

9. Rivet feeding mechanism comprising a rivet chute formed of a base bar having substantially uniform thickness and width and comprising a continuous track for the heads of rivets and parallel Iguiding plates carried by said base bar to guide stems of the rivets, a cross feed extending beneath said base bar and having operative end portions extending above said guiding plates to feed rivets one at a time through a portion of said feed chute, and means to operate said cross feed.

l0. Rivet feeding mechanism comprising a rivet holding pocket, a rivet feed chute to guide rivets to said pocket, said chute comprising a base bar, a removable head on the lower end of said base bar and cooperating with said pocket, said head being provided with a passageway opening to guide rivets into the said pocket, and a pair of guide members extending substantially the full length of said chute and over said head to guide rivets to said opening in said head. I

il. A rivet feeding mechanism comprising a rivet holding pocket, a rivet chute comprising a base bar, la pair of guide members to guide rivets over said base bar and toward said pocket, and a removable head forming a portion of said base bar and'having an end portion substantially parallel to the major axis of said rivet holding pocket, said end portion being provided with a rivet passageway through which rivets may be guided into said pocket, said head being removable as a unit.

l2. In a riveting machine, rivet feeding devices comprising a rivet feed hopper, a rivet lfeed H35 which an excess of rivets fed to said feed wheel may be returned to said compartment.

EDWIN B. STIMPSON. 

